week of October 29, 2018

Mrs. Borden and Mrs. Jones’ Newsletter (Week of October 29)

Handwriting/Writing:  We also have finished all of our numbers to 10 and they look really gorgeous!  We will need those numbers when we start practicing the teens.  We are also sending home a clean copy of all of the capital letters so that they can be used as practice for at home.  When we get into more of the lowercase formations, we will send a copy of those home as well. Keep up the great work!

Reading: Our new story is: Bear Snores On and it is an animal fantasy story.  Our weekly essential question is: “What unique thing does a bear do in winter?” We will also be listening for setting along with comparing/contrasting realism vs. fantasy.  Our amazing words are: sleep, winter, cave, woods, storm, blustery.  ***Along with the weekly newsletter, we have enclosed an article on emerging writing from a site called “Reading Rockets”.  We hope that you found the one on phonemes useful and will keep our eye out for articles that pertain to early reading/writing skills.

Math: We will still be continuing our shape unit but we have moved onto our next math skill.  After practicing the skill of counting objects/pictures and finding the correct number (0-10) we are able to move on to drawing the correct number of circles ourselves (0-10) when given a number at random.  We will continue to sharpen our math skills with this daily practice and watch as we make progress each time.

Science/Social Studies:  We have been using our observation skills to compare the big carving pumpkin that we have in our room to the variety of tiny pumpkins and gourds.  We noticed the different sizes, shapes, and colors.  We will also be getting into problem solving in our next science topic that we will be starting.

Important dates to remember:

October 29 and October 30- continuation of Red Ribbon week (please see school calendar for more information)

October 31- Fall Celebration (please review the informational sheet about the costume guidelines as well as the parade information that was previously sent home.)

week of October 22, 2018

Mrs. Borden and Mrs. Jones’ Newsletter (Week of October 22)

Handwriting/Writing:  We are starting our lowercase letters!  Hooray!  We will be starting the lowercase letters that look like the capitals (Ss for example) and will be continually reviewing our capitals and the importance of starting our letters at the top and using our big lines, little lines, big curves, and little curves to form our letters. 

Reading: Our new story is: Animal Babies in Grasslands and it is a nonfiction story.  Our weekly essential question is: “What special animals live in grasslands?” We will be also talking about the main idea of the story.  Our amazing words are: calf, grasslands, cub, pup, joey, foal.  ***Along with the weekly newsletter, we have enclosed an article on teaching your child about phonemes from a site called “Reading Rockets”.  We will occasionally add some of these articles just as a little FYI so you know what we are working on daily to build lifelong readers. *** 

Math: The 2D Shapes are going great!  We have worked on: circle, square, triangle, rectangle and have spent time identifying them, their characteristics, and finding real life objects from our paper and in the room by going on a “Shape Hunt’.  We are also working on solidifying our skills in numbers 0-10 by counting objects, finding the number, and working with partners on these skills. 

Science/Social Studies:  We will be finishing up our citizenship unit in Social Studies along with completing a Pumpkin Investigation!  We will be digging deep into the characteristics of a pumpkin and can’t wait to see what we uncover!

Important dates to remember:

-Week of October 22- Red Ribbon Week- Follow the themes on the school monthly calendar if you would like to participate.  If not, you must still be in dress code.

-October 22- Day 9

-October 23- Picture Retake Day

-October 26- Kindergarten Fall Festival, Gym clothes are allowed.  We will be outside (weather permitting) so please dress accordingly. Please also wear sneakers. 

week of October 8, 2018

Mrs. Borden and Mrs. Jones’ Newsletter (Week of October 8)

Handwriting/Writing:  We will be working on Center Starters and letters that start with a Magic C.  The good habits that we learn with C, O, S, T, J will make learning the lowercase letters easier!  We have been talking about starting our letter formations at the top, stopping the strokes as the line (unless they are a descending letter that dips below like j), and what capital letters look like versus what lowercase letters look like.  We have been trying to find and fix mistakes hidden in our Morning Message.

Reading: We have started Unit 2 and the essential question of the unit is: “How are animals and plants unique?”  Our new story is: Flowers and it is a nonfiction story.  Our weekly essential question is: “How are flowers unique? “We will be also talking about the plant life cycle.  Our amazing words are: seeds, fruits, buds, stem, bloom, petals.  We did an awesome job of coming up with one person, place, or thing and then sorting them into the correct categories to practice nouns. 

 Math: We will be starting 2D and 3D Shapes and Solids.  We will continue to count to 100 everyday with our Big Numbers Song and count the days of school.  We will continue to practice number formation with our Handwriting as well as practice using 10 frames and calendar topics.

Science/Social Studies:  We will be still working through “What Is Science” and “How To Be A Good Citizen” along with the holidays of: Columbus Day and Halloween.  We will be completing a pumpkin unit as well during the month of October and will hopefully have a chance to explore bats and spiders!

Important dates to remember:

***Monday, October 8- No School for Students, Teacher In-Service Day

***October 9- 12- Homecoming Spirit Week

***Tuesday, October 9- Day 10

***Friday, October 12- NSE Pep Rally and Free Spartan Dress Down Day